June Gardner -- Real Estate Broker - Washington DC Metro Area

The Evers & Co. December 2017 Real Estate Report

The numbers for the close-in Metro area real estate market for December were lackluster except for the District of Columbia, which was a huge success story. Where Montgomery County, Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria all showed declines in dollar volume of sales over last December, the District showed a 22.3% gain! The District also showed an 11.2% increase in average price compared to a 5% gain in Fairfax County and less than a 1% gain in Montgomery County.

Over the past several years, the District has so often out-performed Montgomery County and Fairfax County that it’s hard to believe they are all part of the same close-in Metro area market. The chief reasons for this disparity is walkability and rich cultural and entertainment attributes of the District. In short, the city has been improving by leaps and bounds for the past several years, and people want to live there- especially the millennials who are the chief driving force in our current local real estate market.

*Statistics are taken from the Metropolitan Regional information System for the following areas: the District of Columbia, Montgomery County, Maryland and Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria in Virginia.

The Evers & Co. November 2017 Real Estate Report

Following an October that was better than last year for the close-in Metro marketplace, November sales were even more robust. All areas did better than last year at this time, with the dollar volume of sales up nearly 10% over last year, the average price up 6% and the average days-on-the-market down 9.7%.

Montgomery County had the best numbers, with dollar volume of sales up 8.8%, average price up 10.8% and days-on-the-market down 17%. Since the suburbs have not been faring as well as the District for the last several months, these numbers are encouraging for the outlying areas.

*Statistics are taken from the Metropolitan Regional Information System for the following areas: The District of Columbia, Montgomery County in Maryland, and Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria in Northern Virginia.

The Evers & Co. October 2017 Real Estate Report

Despite the general fall slowdown, the close-in Metro area real estate market in October showed strong sales numbers. The dollar volume of sales was up 18.2% with the District showing a huge 34% increase over last October.

The average price in the area was only up 2.2%, but that is not surprising because most of the price gains each year occur between January and June.

The most surprising news was that the days on the market were down 14.5% over last year, which is a very good indication of a healthy fall market. All of these numbers track with the nationwide numbers for October issued by the National Association of Realtors, and their explanation for the brisk fall sales was the continuing shortage of product, and improving consumer confidence.

*Statistics in this report are taken from the Metropolitan Regional Information System for the following areas: the District of Columbia, Montgomery County, Maryland, and Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria in Virginia.

The Evers & Co. March 2017 Real Estate Report

The month of March proved to be one of the strongest early spring months in years in all three jurisdictions. The area-wide dollar volume of sales was up a booming 26.4% ! Average price for the area was up 7.2% over last year and “days on the market” was down 18%. Montgomery County and the District show the highest rise in dollar volume of sales, with 29.8% and 29.7% respectively, and the highest gain in average price over March of last year was the District , with an 8% increase. What was unusual was that all the jurisdictions showed a big drop of 18.2% in “days on the market”; in other words, properties are selling faster everywhere in the close-in Metro area.

While this uptick in sales and prices may be due to the impending rise in interest rates, the unusually strong wave of sales and consumer confidence is noteworthy and very likely to continue into summer.

*Statistics are taken from the Metropolitan Regional Information System for the following areas: the District of Columbia, Montgomery County, Maryland and Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria in Northern Virginia.

The Evers & Co. February 2017 Real Estate Report

The February numbers for the close-in Metro area were bullish in every way. First of all, the dollar volume of sales was up an astonishing 20% over February of last year. Second, the average price was up 3.6% and finally the days-on-market was down 13.7%. So more properties are selling briskly and at higher prices than last year at this time.

Once again, the leader of the pack was the District of Columbia, with dollar volume of sales up an astounding 32% and average price up 14%. The phenomenon of overall inventory being low and prices getting bid up because of this shortage is continuing and there is really no let up in sight, as we move into the peak of the spring market. Sellers would do well to get their properties on the market between now and June, and buyers should understand that they are in the middle of a highly competitive market situation.

*Statistics are taken from the Metropolitan Regional Information System for the following areas: the District of Columbia, Montgomery County, Maryland, and Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria in Northern Virginia.

The Evers & Co. January 2017 Real Estate Report

The month of January 2017 was a record breaking month for the close-in Metro area, as dollar volume of sales increased by 22.5 percent when compared to January of 2016. The average price increased by a solid seven percent and the average days on the market decreased by 10 percent, making January a robust start to new year home sales.

The region’s most impressive numbers were posted in Washington, D.C. home sales, with dollar volume of sales increasing by 34.6 percent when compared to January 2016, with the average price increasing by 11 percent.

*Statistics are compared from the previous year and taken from the Metropolitan Regional Information System for the three areas: Washington, D.C.; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria in Northern Virginia.

The Evers & Co. December 2016 Real Estate Report

December area sales numbers were surprising. The DC publication, Urban Turf reported that the December 2016 housing market had the highest recorded median price for the whole year and that “the December price point is 28% higher than the low of $320,000 following the housing crisis in December 2009.”

As for the close-in Metro area, MRIS statistics revealed that the District saw a 4.3 % increase in average price, while Montgomery County had a 4.9% increase and Northern Virginia had a 4% increase. Since average price has been relatively flat all year, this was a significant increase, probably due to the very low supply in inventory which is expected to continue on into the spring and summer of 2017.

*Statistics for the close-in Metro area are taken from the Metropolitan Regional Information System for: Washington, D.C.; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria in Northern Virginia.

The Evers & Co. November 2016 Real Estate Report

This November was an interesting month, with the suburbs finally outperforming the District.

Montgomery County had a 9.5% increase in dollar volume of sales, Fairfax County had a 21% increase and Arlington showed a 36.8% increase, while the District only had a 2.6% increase in sales. Part of this is due to the extremely low inventory in the District and part is due to the softer prices in the suburbs. While buyers favor “walkability”, their primary focus is on price.

Price reductions and a more sluggish market in some of the outlying areas have made for some very good buys, and purchasers are taking advantage of them.

Meanwhile, Arlington scored high because of walkability and convenience. They have lots of Metro stations, shops and restaurants. These features coupled with proximity to downtown and prices that are still lower than the District make Arlington very desirable.

*Statistics are taken from the Metropolitan Regional Information System for three areas:

Washington, D.C.; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria in Virginia.

The Evers & Co. October 2016 Real Estate Report

The close-in Metro area market broke its recent recurring pattern in October. While the District has often led the pack with sales and price increases over the past several months, Montgomery County was the leader this past month with a 13.4% increase in dollar volume of sales over last year, a 5.8 % increase in average price and a 14 % decrease in days on the market. At the same time, sales and price increases in the District and Northern Virginia were moderate.

Buyers should be in the market now, because we anticipate continued rise in interest rates. The bond market has already caused an increase in rates, and the Federal Reserve is signaling that they are ready to promote a rate rise. While buyers are usually focused on the price of each property, the price of borrowed money often has a greater impact on the total cost of their purchase, so this is an excellent time to buy before the anticipated spring rate increase and the more competitive spring market.

*Statistics are taken from the Metropolitan Regional Information System ( MRIS) for three areas: Washington, D.C; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria in Northern Virginia.

The Evers & Co. September 2016 Real Estate Report

In September, the District was strong, showing an 11.4 % increase in dollar volume of sales over last September and the average price also increased by 2.4%. However, Montgomery County saw a 14.1 decrease in dollar volume of sales and close-in Northern Virginia saw a 6.8 increase. Both saw decreases in average price.

It’s no secret why the District has steadily gained popularity. The area continues to nurture its culture with arts, sciences and technology. Back in 2011, Donna Evers, president and broker of Evers & Co. Real Estate, wrote an article for Washington Life Magazine titled “Get Ready, It’s the New Washington” in which she highlighted the evolving landscape.

She says, ”The fact of the matter is that the ‘new’ Washington is here. The District has embraced emerging local talent, employed culture producers and invested in trendsetting neighborhoods. The real estate market has been seeing high demand and low supply for months because we’re in a hot ticket area that will continue to strengthen.”

*Statistics are taken from the Metropolitan Regional Information System (MRIS) for three areas: Washington, DC; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria in Virginia.

The Evers & Co. August 2016 Real Estate Report

While the numbers for July were negative across the board, August is a completely different story, with the exception of Alexandria which was negative in sales and prices. Once again the District had the most positive showing with the dollar volume of sales up 14% over last August and the average price up 11.3%. Both Montgomery and Fairfax counties had a better than 16% increase in dollar volume of sales, although each showed little increase in average sale price.

A strong August usually means good fall sales. In addition, interest rates are very low, and the variety of loan products available means that buying will be much easier this fall season than it was last autumn. However, we still have the problem of low inventory in desirable areas. In fact, the more desirable the area, the lower the inventory. When a well-priced, good looking property comes on the market this fall, in a close-in “hot” area in the price range up to one million dollars, you can be pretty sure there will be competitive offers.

*Statistics are taken from the Metropolitan Regional Information System ( MRIS) for three areas: Washington, D.C.; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria in Virginia.

The Evers & Co. July 2016 Real Estate Report

In the close-in Metro area marketplace, average prices were 2.7% lower in July than a year ago and that was not too surprising, since the average price hasn’t showed much movement all year. However, the dollar volume of sales also decreased 4.7% from last July and this downturn is a change in pattern; except for January, we have seen a steady uptick in dollar volume of sales this year over 2015, with February, April and May hovering around +10% or better.

The District, which has been the leader in our area, showed the biggest drop in dollar volume of sales at -9.3%, which was also surprising. Part of the problem is that inventory is very low and we don’t see any relief in sight, since August is usually a flat month. Any improvement in sales volume will probably occur in September and October, which are our two best fall months.

*Statistics are taken from the Metropolitan Information System for three areas: Washington, D.C.; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria.

The Evers & Co. June 2016 Real Estate Report

We are seeing a stronger summer season compared to last year’s numbers, which is encouraging as the Greater Washington Metro area continues to flourish. In June, the District showed a 9.2 percent increase in dollar volume of sales over June 2015, while Montgomery County came in highest in the region, with an increase of 13.6 percent. The average price for both areas also increased with Montgomery County at 3.9 percent over last June and the District with a 3.3 percent increase. This is a strong showing since average price had been relatively flat all year up until now.

Virginia showed no change in dollar volume of sales from last June and their average price was also flat year over year. The District has been the leader in sales volume and average price for several years now, with Montgomery Country coming in second and Northern Virginia usually coming in last, so June’s ranking is not unusual.

*Statistics are taken from the MRIS (Metropolitan Regional Information System) for three areas: Washington, D.C.; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria in Northern Virginia.

The Evers & Co. May 2016 Real Estate Report

District Shows 15.4% Increase in Average Dollar Volume of Sales; Among Top Ten Best Purchase Markets for Millennials

The Washington metro real estate market showed an 11.2 percent increase in dollar volume of sales when comparing to May 2015 records, with a 5.4 percent decrease in days on the market. The District proved to be the top performer this month showing a 15.4 percent increase in dollar volume of sales over last May, while Montgomery County came in at second with an increase of 12.9 percent.

This data shows that spring season sales were strong for the Greater Washington, D.C. real estate market which comes as no surprise according to the National Association of Realtors’ recent news release that ranked Washington D.C. among the top ten best purchase markets for millennial buyers. With steady job growth and lower qualifying incomes needed to buy, Washington D.C. was deemed one of the country’s metro areas “that offers a smoother path to homeownership.”

Each month Evers & Co. reviews the residential real estate statistics provided by the Metropolitan Regional Information System (MRIS) and offers insights into the local housing market.

“It’s encouraging to see strong average percentages, especially during our busiest time of year for home buying and selling,” said Donna Evers, president and broker of Evers & Co. “As we’ve reported in the past, the District continues to be popular for millennials and we’re excited that NAR has recognized our metro area as one of the best across the country. We look forward to continuing to help the next generation successfully invest and prosper.”

The Evers & Co. April 2016 Real Estate Report

The close-in Washington Metro area market showed a 9.5 increase in dollar volume of sales compared to April 2015; Montgomery Country led the way with an 11.4% increase, the District showed a 9.8% increase and Northern Virginia trailed with a 6.9 increase. Despite the fact that the market is short on product, sales have moved up considerably this spring.

With the low inventory, we are still seeing multiple contracts submitted on many properties, from downtown condos in the $300,000’s, to Bethesda and Arlington homes priced over $1 Million. Consumer confidence is strong, mortgage money is varied and plentiful, and buyers’ incomes are still in line with area real estate prices. With no foreseeable changes in the way, this strong market should continue well into the summer months.

*Statistics are taken from the Metropolitan Regional Information System for three areas: Washington, D.C.; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria in Virginia.

The Evers & Co. November 2015 Real Estate Report

There is very good news in the November statistics for the close-in Metro area, with a 20% increase in dollar volume of sales, a 7% increase in average price and a 6% reduction on days on the market. We haven’t seen numbers up this high over last year in many months, and it bodes well for the coming spring market.

Once again, the leader in the three jurisdictions we track was the District of Columbia with a 26.5% increase in dollar volume of sales, a 9.8% gain in average price and an 18% reduction in days on the market. With its shortage of inventory and continuing high demand levels, the District continues to have the most successful real estate market in our area.

*Statistics are taken from the Metropolitan Regional Information System for three areas: Washington, D.C.; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria in Northern Virginia.

The Evers & Co. October 2015 Real Estate Report

Typical Winter Season Slowdown Approaching for Greater Washington, D.C. Real Estate Market

The close-in Washington metro real estate market showed a relatively flat month, with 3.6 percent decrease in average dollar value of sales since October 2014 with a 6 percent increase of days on the market. While there was an overall 6.2 percent gain in average price in the District, Fairfax led with an 8.5 percent increase in dollar volume of sales over last October. As we approach a seasonal slowdown, buyers are at an advantage as competition is lower.

Each month, Donna Evers, president and broker of Evers & Co., www.eversco.com, reviews the residential real estate statistics provided by the Metropolitan Regional Information System (MRIS).

“With the winter weather approaching, many would think that searching for real estate would be an arduous task,” said Donna Evers. “However, buyers have the upper hand as competition is lower moving into the holiday season. With low mortgage rates and a more steady economy - now is the time to buy.”

The Evers & Co. September 2015 Real Estate Report

The close-in Washington Metro real estate market continued to flourish in September 2015, showing a 21.1% increase in the average dollar volume of sales over September 2014, and the District led with an increase of 25%. While there was an overall 4.5% gain in average price, the District again led these price gains with a 9.1% increase over last September. In short, the District continues to be the big success story in our area.

Since there is more product on the market this fall- even in the District, there should be less pressure on price, so buyers should have a better chance of making a purchase. However, houses that show beautifully and are priced well are still going to get multiple offers, so here is a tip for buyers: if you want to avoid highly competitive situations where you end up spending more than you want, don’t shop at the top of your budget. In that way, you will have room in the competitive bidding process to be successful. Also, if you find a house that needs some updating, you can set aside money for improvements and buy for less in a much less stressful situation.

The Evers & Co. August 2015 Real Estate Report

In August 2015, average sale prices for the close-in Washington metro real estate market increased, showing a 6.5 percent gain while dollar volume of sales also increased by 11 percent. This summer has seen strong sales without any of the typical seasonal lulls for both the District and the outer lying suburban areas.

Fairfax County showed a 10.6 percent increase in dollar volume of sales as well as Montgomery County with a 7.6 percent increase. As the market continues to pick up steam and more properties are becoming available, it’s expected that the momentum will continue through the fall months.

Each month, Donna Evers, president and broker of Evers & Co., www.eversco.com, reviews the residential real estate statistics provided by the Metropolitan Regional Information System (MRIS).

“As we’ve seen during the summer, real estate continues to be quite competitive in hot neighborhoods in the District, but with steady activity in the market it looks like the fall season will prove better luck for buyers,” said Donna Evers. “There is new product coming out with each passing week and after a strong summer of sales, it doesn’t look like the market will be slowing down before the end of the year.”